Shy Grins, Cheerful Smiles, and Wry Smirks
by MissLe
Summary: They were there to protect her from the world. She was there to protect them from themselves. Collection of ItaHinaSasu drabbles.
1. Please Play Again

**H'okay. It _is_ a ItaHinaSasu in the simplest way that I tried to equally divide them up between the two boys. Please don't think it's entirely ItaHina by the two characters I chose as the main ones.**

--

"Puh-_lease_?"

Itachi pinched the bridge of his nose and nearly slammed his forehead against his desk. How long had this going on for? He did not know. How much homework had he actually got done in that amount of time?

None.

"I want to go!" Sasuke squealed and clasped his hands together, shaking them in front of his brother's knees that he was kneeling at, "_Please_!"

Gritting his teeth and painfully pulling on a passive face, Itachi faced his doe eyed brother who had gotten down on hands and knees to beg, plead and grovel. Taking a deep breath, Itachi bent down to Sasuke's level and flicked his forehead.

"Ow," Sasuke whined and clutched his head with his hands that Itachi noticed in that moment had grown so much since he last remembered, "You're so mean, nii-san."

"I will take you to the…park." Itachi said through a clenched jaw and stood up from his seat robotically. The things he did for his brother.

"Give me a piggy back there!" Sasuke demanded and leapt onto his brother's back without much else warning. Giggling and laughing merrily, he tugged on his brother's ponytail, "Gee, nii-san, you're starting to look like a _girl_."

Why, Itachi asked himself, did he even love this demon child of a brother?

--

"_Itachi_! Play with me!" Sasuke whined and pulled on his brother's leg with a surprising amount of strength, "It's no fun without you…"

Itachi groaned, "Sasuke, please. Spare me. I should be doing homework right now, but instead I brought you here to the park to play. The least you could do is play happily and leave me alone." As an afterthought, he added, "Please."

Sasuke pouted and sulked, but left to play in the sand by himself nonetheless. Sighing with relief, Itachi plopped himself down on the bench and laid back against the back of it, watching out for Sasuke with the corner of his eye.

Already, many little girls had come up to Sasuke trying to get him to play house with him, to which he would just snarl and be rude enough to make them run bawling. Poor child; it seemed he had the same malady that plagued Itachi himself. Heart-throb.

It nearly concerned Itachi to see Sasuke playing by himself, he wished his brother had used his looks to his advantage and made himself popular and gathered friends. Not that Itachi knew anything about how to do this…he was the same. Beautiful. Strong. Intelligent. Admirable.

Antisocial.

He winced. He was a bad influence.

"Go away!" Sasuke's commanding five and a half year old voice growled.

"I--I can't!" A small girl had crawled up next to him, her once pristine white dress now ruined by sand and soil.

"Go away!" Sasuke repeated, his voice going shrill at the realization that his mean words and rudeness were not repelling this one girl.

It seemed she was not fully immune as she broke down into sobs, "I c-can't! Kano-san said so!"

Sasuke looked ready enough to fling sand at the girl before his eyes happened to cross something in the sand and his eyes glimmered mischievously. Picking up whatever he had spotted, he snarled back at the girl again, "If you don't go away, I'll throw this!"

"Th-that's not very nice!" She gasped and held her arms outstretched.

"Yeah, so?"

"So you'll hurt th-the w-worm!" She wailed and crawled closer, desperately trying to snatch the slimy worm out of his grasps. Her attempts weren't getting her anywhere except making a deep rip from the hem of her dress to mid thigh. Finally noticing this, she stopped trying to reach for the desperately squirming worm and curled into a ball, crying quietly.

This stunned Sasuke for a moment. He looked up at his brother expectantly; the girls had always run away while crying or cried afterwards, he had never actually had to deal with one before.

Itachi pretended not to have seen his brother and looked around, ignoring him with all his might. Crying girls of any age were not fun.

Helplessly, Sasuke awkwardly patted her on the back, "I…I won't hurt the worm." When her crying still continued, he continued feebly, "You're dress is…pretty." Even this did not pacify the girl.

"Please stop crying!" Sasuke pleaded desperately and put the worm into his pocket for a moment to shake the girl by the shoulders. It had worked in movies.

It didn't in real life. She began crying at an unbearably loud level and tugged consciously at the hem of her torn and soiled dress. Finally realizing it as a moment to intervene, Itachi got up from his bench seat with a nearly imperceptible sigh.

"Sasuke's sorry for making you cry," Itachi crouched down to their level, "Isn't he?" He shot his brother a brief glare to which Sasuke nodded his head eagerly.

"I am! I'm really sorry!"

"And he promises not to hurt the worm. Sasuke, give me the worm." He held out his hand and was mildly disgusted as it writhed in his palm, coiling over and over again. Bringing his hand in front of her head gingerly, "Here, unharmed."

Her crying dissolved into thick hiccups and she lightly took the worm into her small hands. She looked up and surprised Itachi with bright mirror like eyes that expressed the same surprise he was feeling.

"Itachi-san?"

"You know this girl?" Sasuke asked incredulously and suddenly developed a small amount of respect for the girl.

He recognized her but could not place the name to the short cobalt haired Hyuuga child. He had seen her at gatherings of the two clans and was sure he had even been introduced to her at one point. If she had been formally introduced she had to be of some importance…that was right, she was the heiress to the entire Hyuuga clan. Hinata, he was nearly sure, was her name.

"Hinata…chan, where are your guardians?" He asked in a gentle voice and was slightly annoyed as her attention had been turned back to the worm as she began crooning softly to it.

She looked up and clutched the worm to her chest, "I…I don't know…I d-don't know where she went. B-but she said f-for me to stay here…" Hinata's eyes began to water again and a small alarm bell went off in Itachi's head.

"Okay, okay." Itachi said quickly, "Just stay here and play with Sasuke and I'll look out for your caretaker, okay?" He frowned at his brother who was sulking again, "Play with her. Be nice. Don't harass her. And don't make her cry again." He ordered and flicked his brother in the head as he went back to his peaceful spot on the bench.

The two children seemed hesitant to play with each other, but soon found an object of common interest to work with (the worm). Most of the time Sasuke would threaten to drop the worm down the front of her dress while she would shrilly protest for the worm's safety and snatch it back in her tiny fingers. Sasuke found this an admirable trait in a girl, maybe even a friend; someone who didn't always want to wrestle, someone who wasn't screaming all the time to play house and had a healthy respect for worms.

"So…Hinata." Sasuke began and idly drawing lines in the sand, "Why do you like worms? Aren't you afraid of them?"

Hinata's eyes widened and she brought her newfound worm friend closer to her, "Why sh-should I? They've never done anything to me…they're nice. And--and sweet, and…and…cute." She insisted earnestly and stroked it with her index finger.

Sasuke pursed his lips and crossed his arms, mentally debating on something. It seemed he finally made up his mind and crawled close to the girl, bringing his face close to her, "Hinata. I like you. Be my friend."

Both faces of the children were flushed, Hinata's especially as she nodded and whispered, "O-okay. You be my f-friend too…please?"

He grinned and grabbed both of her wrists, "Don't be a dummy, if I asked to be your friend and you said yes, then I'm your friend too! You don't have to ask." He gave her a look, "Geez."

She smiled feebly and nodded again, "Okay. Th-thank you."

He pulled her up and dragged her over to Itachi, a gesture she seemed nervous and reluctant to go through with, but did without complaint. Puffing up his chest and holding her hand, he gloated to his brother, "Look, nii-san. _I _have a friend. This is Hinata, say hi guys."

Hinata loosened his grip on her and placed her fingers on her thighs to give a modest bow, "H-hello, Itachi-san…"

Itachi gave an amused grin…it seemed his little brother had somewhat of a crush on this Hyuuga. His pride was unable to let his little brother to finally outdo him in something and he lightly gripped her small fingers, giving her an earnest smile, "Will you be my friend too, Hinata-san?"

Hinata turned the same red when Sasuke had asked her this question and she gave a delighted smile, "I--"

"No!" Sasuke pulled her away from Itachi and wrapped his arms around her in what would have been a hug if his expression weren't so feral and his grip so possessive, "You can't be Itachi's friend! You're my friend!" His voice had become desperate and he tightened his grip on her.

"Sasuke, you can't be so selfish," Itachi frowned and ruffled his brother's hair, "You can have many friends if you want, and so can she. You can't _own _her."

Hinata gave both brothers a desperate look, not wanting to displease either of them. "I'll st-still be your friend, Sasuke! I promise…I can't br-break a promise." She insisted and gave him a tight and quick hug back. Sasuke looked pleased with this and finally let his arms drop from around her.

"So you'll be my friend, Hinata-san?" Itachi asked and bit the corner of his cheek to prevent himself from laughing outright. The exchanges of childish love between them were beyond amusing.

"Y-yes, Itachi-san." She gave him a small smile too and gave his leg an equally small an quick hug, to which Sasuke scowled at and dragged her off to climb a tree or something.

Itachi watched the two of them climb further and further up the tree and mused about what would conspire between them. A bond between the Hyuuga and Uchiha…would that be permitted? Even being friends would be frowned upon between the two clans; maybe a war would even break out.

He grimaced. War was stupid, as stupid as the old men starting them. He watched his brother be careful about the girl and helped her climb further up, pulling up her limbs with all his strength. The Hyuuga too looked out for him and warned him of particularly pointy and spiky branches that seemed may harm him. Itachi hated all these clan politics, tradition and idiot rules. He would've thrown away all his life away if it meant getting away from it all. Only his sense of honour, duty, and patriotism kept him.

Tugging at his pant legs broke him from his brooding and he peered down at Sasuke who was crawling onto his lap, beckoning to Hinata to do the same. The girl shook her head and blushed. Sasuke just sighed, "Itachi doesn't _care_."

A small tick developed under Itachi's eye, and who established this fact? Certainly not him…

To his relief, however, Hinata shook her head again and merely jumped gracelessly onto the bench next to him.

"Itachi! Take us for ice cream! _Please_!" Sasuke begged and tugged at Itachi's ponytail.

"Don't--don't trouble your nii-san so m-much, Sasuke…" Hinata chided softly and refused to look at either of them. She looked much too embarrassed for just speaking out and defending him.

Itachi merely patted her head and smoothed down her ruffled hair, "Would you like some too, Hinata-san?"

Hinata looked horrified and actually covered her mouth in her shock, "I--I couldn't trouble you!"

Itachi chuckled and ignored the glares he was received from his brother as he smoothed her hair again, "I'm offering you, Hinata-san, and I wouldn't be if it troubled me."

She blushed under his hands and looked mildly uncomfortable, but nodded, "I w-would l-like that."

"C'mon, Hinata!" Sasuke leapt off of Itachi's lap and pulled her away from his brother, "What's your favourite flavour?"

She smiled, "V-vanilla."

"Mine too!" He chirped cheerfully and shot his brother a backwards glance, urging him to follow.

Rolling his eyes, Itachi followed behind them at a leisurely pace as Hinata and Sasuke chattered amiably holding hands. He was surprised when Sasuke slowed his pace and petulantly held out his open hand in an expectant way. Giving Sasuke a small smile, he took the hand in his own; it was good to know that not even a girl (_especially _a girl) would tear their brotherly bond apart.

The conversation between the two children stopped nearly as soon as Itachi's hand touched Sasuke's. Hinata was staring down at the ground at her feet, at the sky, anything but the two boys. Itachi held out his free hand, "Would you like to hold my hand too, Hinata-san?"

"Hey!" Sasuke pouted and clutched her hand tighter, "_I'm _holding her hand."

"Don't be selfish. You've gotten all this time to play with her, she's _my _friend too." If Itachi were the type of boy to stick his tongue out, he would've. Giving Hinata a kind smile he beckoned her, "Will you hold my hand, Hinata-san?"

Her muscles seemed to clench and go rigid, but she slowly released her grip on Sasuke's hand and walked to the other side to tentatively grasp his larger hand. She looked up at Itachi with uncertainty and let her grip tighten enough that her hand was no longer loosely hanging.

"So I hear you like vanilla ice cream, is that the flavour you'd like to have?" Itachi asked solicitously and let the children sway their arms with his.

"Y-yes, please." Hinata blushed, "Wh-what flavour are you going to g-get?"

He laughed. "I don't like ice cream."

Her eyes bulged and shared a momentary shocked glance with Sasuke, "You don't like ice cream?" They both asked incredulously and clasped both hands onto his, "_You don't like ice cream_?"

"No. Not really. Too sweet." He shrugged.

Sasuke must have found this a macho quality and copied his brother's shrugging, "Yeah. It's alright."

Hinata gave both of them an appalled look, "I _love _ice c-cream!"

Sasuke looked torn between looking 'cool' and agreeing with Hinata, so merely looked down at his feet, his face turning a furious red. He kicked a few pebbles before deciding quietly, "I only like vanilla."

Before long, they arrived at a small ice cream parlour in the center of the village that was incredibly empty for such a popular shop on such a hot day.

"So, two vanilla ice creams?" Itachi checked with them and gently slipped his hands out of theirs, "Sasuke, you still want some?" He gave his brother a wry smile, to which Sasuke merely glowered at.

"Thank y-you very much, Itachi-san." Hinata gave him a grateful smile and hesitated before giving him another small bow and running off to sit at an outside table sheltered by a brightly coloured umbrella. Sasuke followed without a word to Itachi. Itachi frowned; he must've been very upset at him.

Itachi ordered both cones quickly and without hassle before returning to the two who were in deep conversations about some childish thing or another. Without a fuss the two snatched the ice creams out of his hands and inhaled them quickly. Ice cream was smothered across their face and Itachi patiently instructed to wipe it off with the clean napkins he knew were bound to come in handy.

"I have to go pee." Sasuke announced and bounced out of his chair.

"Do you need me to come with you?" Itachi asked, remembering the times in the dead of night when Sasuke would request his presence when he needed to go to the bathroom.

"No!" Sasuke glanced at Hinata quickly, and then shot his brother a look of horror and utter embarrassment.

Itachi rolled his eyes and nodded, letting his brother run off in search of the nearest bathroom. The quiet between him and the young Hyuuga child drove in quick and suffocating.

"Itachi-san…" Hinata broke the silence and looked at a point behind his shoulder, "What a-are those two people d-doing?" She tilted her head to the side and examined them with a look of curiosity.

Itachi turned to see a couple making out in a shameful manner that was definitely not suitable for five year old eyes. Disgusting. Turning back to Hinata and shifting his chair so they were blocked out, he coughed uncomfortably, "They're…kissing."

"It l-looks like she's b-being attacked…" Hinata craned her neck to peer at them with concern.

Itachi laughed outright, "I suppose it does, doesn't it?" He watched the look of pure curiosity and naivety on her face and gave a small frown, "Do you not know what kissing is?"

Hinata shook her head slowly, looking ashamed that she was so utterly clueless, "No…"

"Haven't your parents ever given you a kiss?"

Her face turned stone hard and she gave him a glazed look, "No."

Itachi's lips turned into a rigid grimace; he hated tradition, especially when it caused you to be cold and callous. He patted her head, "A kiss is a sign of affection."

"Does…does it f-feel good?" Hinata asked, her eyebrows knitting and turning upwards.

A sudden feeling of pity overcame Itachi; an emotion that he rarely felt. This girl probably barely saw her parents, and if she did, it was only for training or formal events. Bending over he placed a soft kiss on her forehead, "Did that feel good?"

She blushed and looked up at him, "Y-yes. I-I liked it."

"_You kissed her_!"

Itachi looked down at his brother who had a look of utter betrayal and shock on his face, "You kissed her!" Sasuke repeated, stunned. He looked up at Hinata who had a look of confusion on her face; was kissing bad?

"It's getting dark," Itachi commented and stared at the slowly darkening sky, "We should get home. I'll drop you off at home first, Sasuke, then I'll return Hinata since we haven't been able to find her caretaker yet."

"Whatever," Sasuke mumbled.

Sasuke refused to hold Itachi's hand on the way back home and refused to let Hinata hold Itachi's, only tightly gripping her hand so hard she flinched. So much for a girl never getting in between their brotherly bonds.

It was a long walk back to the compound and Hinata looked tired enough to fall asleep on her feet. Occasionally, her head would drift onto Sasuke's shoulder, and then would snap back up into a proper position. It was fully dark by the time they finally arrived in front of the gates. Sasuke looked hesitant to enter and swiftly, he pressed a chaste kiss on Hinata's forehead, "Good night. I had fun." He said quickly and almost ran off before Hinata drowsily pressed one against his cheek too.

"G-good night, Sasuke." She mumbled incoherently and let her eyelids droop.

Sasuke flushed bright red and ran in through the gates without another word.

"Come on, Hinata-san." Itachi beckoned and watched her stumble after him. After a few meters he bent down and watched Hinata stare at him quizzically, "Climb on. I'll carry you home."

She was too tired to protest and nearly threw herself and her loose limbs at him. He adjusted her so that she wasn't about to fall off his back and stood up properly. "Hold on tight."

"Okay…" She agreed fuzzily but still kept her arms loose around his shoulders.

Sighing, Itachi tightened his grip around her legs and ran off in a sprint towards the Hyuuga manor which was conveniently on the other edge of the village. Before long Hinata was lulled to sleep and her soft snoring was the only thing he could hear except the wind rushing past them.

He was mildly upset that his brother was so angry about him over this girl. She was kind and unlike any other girl he had encountered, a trait he admired in the (admittedly) adorable girl. He just hoped that his brother wasn't hurt by her or vice versa, he was sure Sasuke would be a heartbreaker in the future.

He landed lightly on the ground in front of the Hyuuga grounds and lightly jostled Hinata to wake her, "Hinata-san, wake up. We're here." He whispered.

"Mm…" Hinata mumbled and buried her head into his neck, "I'm t-tired…"

"I know, but you have to wake up now." Itachi insisted and jostled her some more.

"Okay…" Hinata agreed and rested the side of her head on his shoulder, "W-will you and Sasuke p-promise to p-play again?" She yawned and closed her eyes again.

"If you wish, Hinata-san." Itachi promised and felt the light breath of her snores return onto his neck. Sighing, Itachi leapt over the walls of the Hyuuga compound, ready for the accusations and ungrateful comments he was soon to receive.

--

**I'm just going to put it out there right now. I'm really, REALLY happy with this ONESHOT (Yes. Oneshot.).**

**Fanfiction's stopped sending me emails. T-T So don't bother sending me private messages, I won't be able to read them. But do review, I'll still be able to read those. :D**

**Ciao,**

**MissLe**


	2. Help Me From This Pain

**Chapter 2**

"_Fuck _it." Sasuke snarled and finally threw himself out of bed at the incessant knocking and ringing at the door. He glanced at the bright red digits that shone in the dark bedroom from his alarm clock. Three _fucking _thirty. God dammit.

Angrily, he stormed down the stairs to see his brother also coming down the hall and staring vicious holes at the door where whoever the poor, idiotic person was foolish enough to be knocking on the Uchiha house at such an early hour was. Itachi too was swearing and cussing furiously under his breath as he met Sasuke in the foyer and swung open the door, glaring coldly.

Both were surprised when a petite body dizzily fell into them and whimpered pitifully.

"Hinata?" Sasuke asked, perplexed, to the head of matted hair that was burying its way into his chest, sobbing wildly, while arms were desperately trying to grasp at both brothers.

"Come in." Itachi beckoned immediately and closed the door behind the bawling wreck, to whom he wrapped his arms around after his brother was too much in shock to do fast enough.

She wept continually as Itachi led her to the living room and gently sat her down on the couch. Once Itachi had let go of her, she pulled at Sasuke and wrapped her arms around him like a child who just had a nightmare. Softly, Itachi said, "I'll go get a blanket and tissues, and you can explain what happened, alright?"

She didn't reply and merely hugged Sasuke tighter, who in turn tightened his hold on her and placed his chin on top of her head. Once Itachi had left the room in search of provisions, Sasuke stroked her hair and gently brought up her face to get a clear look of her face. Tears streaked her face, blood was clotting in her hair, her lip was split and the beginning of a black eye was forming.

Inhaling sharply, Sasuke growled and lightly outlined the bruises on her face, careful not to hurt her or make her flinch, "What happened?"

"Sasuke…Sasuke…" Hinata whimpered and clutched at his shirt, breathing in deeply and closed her eyes in agony, "It h-hurts."

At that moment, Itachi entered and hissed like an animal, "Hinata. What. Happened."

She looked up at him and swiped her running nose with the back of her hand, "Itachi…"

He knelt down at her feet and gently held her wrists and kissed them, "Tell me, please. Tell me." He coaxed against her skin.

She shuddered and nodded, "I…Temari b-brought me to a club…it was l-loud and crowded. I d-didn't like it. After a b-bit, I told T-Temari I wanted to go…but she was too involved w-with Shikamaru to want to leave or d-drop me off at home…so I just l-left." She burst into tears again and Sasuke offered her a tissue, to which she took and leaned against his shoulder.

"I w-wasn't far from home. I…I was almost there." She wailed and blew into her tissue, "Then…this man c-came out of the alley. I think he w-was drunk. He talked to m-me. I didn't like h-him. I told him I had t-to go home…he g-got angry. He hit me. He…" She trailed off and sobbed against Sasuke who rubbed his cheek against her and bit his lip to stop from screaming in rage.

"Did he rape you?" Itachi asked, his eyes had gone cold, and although his gaze was directed to Hinata, it didn't seem like he was looking at her.

She rubbed away the tears, "No. I…I got away. He had a…a knife." She shivered again and cried some more.

Itachi snarled and grit his teeth, kissing her palms now, "Why didn't you just go straight home? It's so much closer than here. It must've taken you an hour just to walk here."

She bit her lip and lightly tugged at a lock of his long hair, "Father…he wouldn't…wouldn't…"

Care. Sasuke knew. Her father wouldn't give a shit. He would maybe get her cleaned up, and then lock her up for a few days to heal. To hide from the press. Sasuke pressed a kiss to her temple and rubbed his hands on her shoulders, "Are you hurt more?"

She paled and froze. Both of them knew something wasn't right and gripped her tighter. Consciously, she wrapped her arms around her and slowly shook her head.

"Hinata. We need to see this; we don't want you hurt more than you already are." Itachi insisted and entwined fingers with her.

She pulled her lips into a grimace and pulled off her shirt. Cuts laced her pale skin. None were deep enough to cause much damage, but some were deeper than others, and some were still bleeding. She pointed to a deeper gash on her thigh that looked worse than the others.

Rage filled both Sasuke and Itachi's veins and rushed to their heads. Itachi stood up suddenly, "I'm going out. I'll be back before it gets bright." His fists clenched and his lips had gone tight and straight.

"I'll come." Sasuke insisted and stood up too. Hinata looked terrified at the prospect of being left alone and desperately wrapped her arms against both of them, begging for them not to leave her.

"No. You'll stay, Sasuke." Itachi commanded coolly, "Someone needs to take care of Hinata and clean her up."

The fury in Sasuke never died, but perhaps grew as he reluctantly nodded and stepped away from them. Hinata looked up at Itachi with wild eyes and he placed a kiss against the corner of her mouth, "I won't be gone for long, I promise."

This seemed to pacify her and she scrambled back to Sasuke, throwing herself at him. Itachi grabbed a coat and left with a nod, then closed the door.

Sasuke brought her back to the couch and sat her on his lap, letting her finish crying. She continued sobbing as she wrapped her limbs around him as if she would never let go. He stroked her face and kissed every cut and bruise, big or small, on her face gently. Finally, her crying turned into dry hiccupping and Sasuke whispered against her hair, "We'll go clean you up now, okay?"

She nodded and rewrapped her legs around his waist and arms around his neck as he carried her to the washroom. He placed her on the toilet, gently prying off her limbs from him.

"Take a bath to wash out the dirt from your cuts; it'll make you feel better too." Sasuke insisted and got up to leave but was stopped by Hinata firmly gripping his pant leg and shaking her head furiously.

"No! No, please don't go, Sasuke…" She begged and got onto her knees, crying again. She was hysterical.

"You have to. I can't bathe with you." Sasuke knew he wouldn't be able to control himself if they did.

"Don't go, don't go." Hinata continued and refused to listen to a word he was saying.

He glanced at her. She was already topless. In the heat of the moment, he had totally forgotten. He looked away quickly and picked up a cloth, dampening it with warm water under the sink, "I'll dab them with this, okay? It might hurt more though."

She nodded gratefully and sat herself back onto the toilet lid and winced as he sat down and began dabbing the cuts gently. Seeing these again made his skin boil and his breathing short and erratic with fury. How could someone do this to someone as kind as gentle as Hinata? His swipes at the cuts became harsher and harsher until she gave a small cry.

He jerked his hand away immediately and looked up at her with horrified eyes, "Hinata, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean…" He looked down at his hands, he had injured her further. _He caused her more pain_.

He was surprised when she cupped his face and kissed him. Her lips became more fervent and she began grasped at his hair. Sasuke responded anxiously and with as much energy, he gripped her waist, her hand, her hair, her face.

Slowly, he pulled away from her and closed his eyes, taking deep breaths. This wasn't what Hinata was like usually. Hinata was quiet. Hinata was shy. Hinata was sweet. Hinata was not herself right now.

He looked up at her confused face and brought her palm up to his lips, "Hinata, you're not feeling well. Don't make me do something I know you will regret later. If you're going to regret it…I will too."

Heat rushed to face and she flushed, remembering herself. She twisted uncomfortably, "I'm s-sorry, Sasuke. I don't know…"

He gave an imperceptible smile and picked up the cloth again, "I'm almost done this part."

After wiping a few more cuts, he looked through the medicine cabinet and brought out the iodine. He grimaced at her, "This is going to hurt like a bit--a lot. It's going to hurt a lot. Let me go find something for you to bite down on."

"I'll c-come with you." Hinata insisted quickly and picked up the bottle and cotton swabs he had found, limping after him into his bedroom.

"The best thing I can think of is my pillow." He pursed his lips then sat her down on the bed, "Bite onto it. It's going to hurt."

She whimpered, but nodded and held clutched it tightly, screaming against it as he dabbed at her cuts with the iodine. Each scream of hers tore through Sasuke painfully and he had to keep telling herself it would only help her in the long run.

After what was too long, he put down the bottle and wiped away her tears. "I'm so sorry, Hinata." He whispered and pulled her against him, "I'm so sorry."

She smiled against his neck, "For what? Y-you just helped m-me…."

"For hurting you. I'm so sorry for not being there to defend you. I'm so sorry I let this happen." He clenched his jaw and eyes.

"You didn't kn-know." She rationalized and seemed to return to her right state of mind. Kind. Compassionate. Caring. Everything he and he knew his brother loved about her.

"I'm t-tired," Hinata yawned.

"Go to sleep then." Sasuke stood up to go sleep on the couch for he too felt the strain of the evening finally hit.

"Please stay." Hinata requested and grabbed his hand.

"…Alright."

* * *

Itachi slowly locked and closed the door behind him and began up the stairs to the washroom. He was still viciously angry…but cooled off enough now that he could think with a little more rationality. He paused at Sasuke's door and glanced in at the two that were sleeping curled up together.

Hinata seemed to sense someone there, even in her sleep and her eyes fluttered open, excitement and worry shooting through her eyes at the sight of him.

"Itachi," She sat up, waking Sasuke, and held her arms outstretched like an expectant child.

He looked down at himself. Blood was splattered onto his shirt, his hands were crusted in it and his hair was matted with it. None of it was his. Hinata didn't seem to care or even notice as she whispered again, "Itachi…"

He bent down and swept her into his arms, clutching her tightly as she relaxed in his arms. She let go of him and moved over on the bed closer to Sasuke who was rubbing his eyes, "Sleep with m-me."

Itachi lay down with her without protest. She lay on her back and gripped both brothers' hands and closed her eyes, "…Thank you."

They both kissed her fingers in reply.

* * *

**HAHA. I lied. Sort of. The other chapter is still a oneshot…but now it's a collection of drabbles. **

**How do you like THEM apples?**

**Ciao,  
****MissLe**


	3. You're So Generous And Gorgeous

"Is there anywhere specific you'd like to sit? We're not that busy right now." The waiter asked me cheerfully and gestured to the rest of the restaurant.

I glanced at the tables that looked too crammed together and pointed at the bar, "Th-the bar would be fine, thank you."

He grinned at me and held out his arm, "After you, miss."

I gave him a small smile and walked over to the bar and sat down on the stool that was comfier than it had looked.

"Can I get you anything to start with? Beverages?" He scratched his oddly tattooed face. Whiskers. I was still staring at them when I said, "G-green tea would be very n-nice, thanks."

He grinned and flounced off to grab my requested drink. I looked around the sushi restaurant. It was sufficiently Japanese looking, though I doubted any of the staff knew any Japanese; most were like that. Random calligraphy scrolls were pinned up on the wall, the light from the sunset out on the beach was filtering through the cracks in the bamboo blinds and various noh and oni masks were also up on the wall. It wasn't so bad, I supposed.

I was still upset though that the old noodle shop that used to reside here was no longer. The manager was an old man who had been very kind to me and talked with me when I had a rough day, I liked him very much. But he had finally decided one day out of no where that he needed to retire. Just a feeling that he felt from deep within his bones, he had told me.

I gave a wistful smile and looked down a the menu that she was sure had not been there a second ago. The meals all looked very good and filling, but they were pictures and god knew I had been fooled many times before by misleading pictures before. Instead of raising my hand to order (I had an idea of what I would like but figured that I needed time to make my decision), I watched the man in front of at the bar deftly slice, pat, and roll the sushi. Not only was each piece sushi he made a piece of art in itself, the way he did it was so skilfully done. I found it rhythmic and found myself drifting to the sounds of the chopping and slicing.

"Can I help you?"

The hands ceased moving and the voice seemed to be coming from the same body. I looked up at the unbelievably handsome face frowning down at me. Thin pink lips were curved down, soft looking black hair seemed to spike up naturally at the back, narrow, dark eyes blinked at me from behind enviously large eyelashes and his broad shoulders seemed too small for his restrictive work space.

Slowly, I shook my head and blushed, "N-no. Sorry." I fiddled with my fingers in my lap and added quietly, "You're very g-good at that."

He raised his knife and eyebrows. "You don't expect me to be?"

I flushed further, "No! I...I..." In my flustered state I managed to knock over my tea that had found its way over to me onto the counter. I groaned and quickly wiped it with my napkins.

He seemed amused and leaned over closer to me, "What's your name?"

"Hinata." I answered uncomfortably and worked up enough courage to look up into his eyes. I gulped down the butterflies in my stomach and bit my lip. A man this good looking would not be interested in me; he probably had an already gorgeous girlfriend or was gay. No point in crushing on him.

"Very nice to meet you, Hinata." He gave a small smile and returned to plucking out the bones in the salmon.

I blinked. What was I supposed to say to that? Why was my tongue no longer working?

"Hello," A voice from behind greeted me, saving myself from an irreparably embarrassing scene, "Are you ready to order, miss?" The voice was soft and rumbling and I imagined that if it were manifested as something material it would be something like satin or fur.

I turned around to face my new waiter and nearly let out a frustrated yelp. He too was attractive enough to make most models look like dirt. Long silken hair tied back into a ponytail, nice straight nose, full lips that still seemed masculine, muscular...basically, exceptionally dazzling. The _whole _restaurant was filled with gorgeous men staff! Even the original waiter had been handsome. Surfer tan, blond hair, blue eyes, etc.

This place was without a doubt going to become my guilty pleasure.

"Is this restaurant actually supposed to be some model agency?" I blurted out on accident and was horrified to discover my mouth _would not shut up_, "Because, I don't believe that I wouldn't b-be able to afford f-food that's made for models. I'm sorry for coming in. I m-must've missed the sign--" I forcibly clamped down my mouth with my palm, horrified and blushing more than I ever have. Is this why I've never _really _had a boyfriend? Oh god.

The waiter blinked at me and I suddenly recognized those long lashes. I looked back at the sushi artist, but found a different man cutting sushi with much less grace and panache. I didn't want to look back at my waiter and miserably stared at the shiny, laminated menu.

He was chuckling as he slowly took away the menu. His smile was breathtaking and I wanted to beat my head against the counter at my earlier idiotic behaviour. "No, we are not a modeling agency." He chuckled again, "We are a regular Japanese restaurant with reasonable prices for everyday folk."

I made a face at my fingers in my lap. I'm such an idiot. So there's a few good looking guys all working at the same restaurant. Coincidence. I couldn't help but moan, "I-I'm so sorry. This is so embarrassing." I hid my face in my hands.

"Now there's no need for that." He tugged my hands away from my face. Was he allowed to do that? I wasn't complaining. A smile quirked at the corner of his mouth, "It's very...flattering."

I blushed again and coughed, "Er...what w-would you suggest. To eat?"

He pursed his lips and cocked his head, "Well...our sashimi slices are quite exceptional, as are our salmon tempura rolls." He held out his note pad at the ready.

"That sounds...good." I agreed. Anything to get him to leave and let me think without trying to drool.

He gave me a dazzling smile that was probably used on all his female customers to persuade them into buying a steady stream of dishes. With my luck, I was probably shanghaied into buying the most expensive items on the menu.

I sighed and turned back to watch the sushi being made just to be mildly surprised to recognize the hands making them. I looked up at him, "I thought you had left."

He glanced at me, "Worried, were we?"

I blushed, "No. I j-just thought that."

His lips curved up in the slightest, reminding me of the waiter whom I had made a fool out of myself in front of, "I went into the back to take over the cooking for a bit. Kiba goes a little stir crazy back there by himself cooking rice, chicken, tempura, etcetera." He rolled the seaweed around the rice.

"How very k-kind of you." I remarked with the slightest hint of sarcasm, an effect which was ruined by my confounded stuttering.

He raised an eyebrow, "Is that sarcasm I detect?" He scooped the salmon roe into the small rolls from a small plastic container.

"N-never mind." I muttered and turned my head away, only to land my gaze on my waiter.

"So...Hinata." I slowly turned back my face to the Sushi Artist, "What brings you here on the month anniversary of our opening day?"

"Erm..." Why was he trying to start a conversation with me? Men I knew barely even noticed I was there when _I _tried talking to them, "I knew the o-owner who used to work in this b-building. He m-made good noodles." I decided to throw in, "I w-wanted to see the people who t-took over after." I found talking to him surprisingly easy.

"Eh? Is that so." He was chopping something else, but my attention was no longer on his hands, "Well, do we meet you're standards, Hinata?"

I smiled, I couldn't help it, "Wh-what's your name? You know mine, and I don't know yours. I think it's k-kind of weird."

He blinked at me, a quirk that I admittedly thought was adorable, "Sasuke."

"V-very nice to meet you, Sasuke." I mimicked his words and twirled my empty glass around the counter.

A blond sat in the stool next to me and waved at Sasuke, "It's your break."

He glared at the cheery man, whom I noticed was my initial waiter, "Thank you, _Naruto_."

He grinned at Sasuke, "Just doin' my job."

Sasuke scowled, leaving his counter and was taken over by a wild looking brunet man. Naruto, which I guess his name was, turned towards me with his head resting in the palm of his hand and giving me a friendly grin, something I guess he did a lot, "You know, the Uchiha brothers like you. Impressive."

I screwed up my face, "Um...e-excuse me? What?"

"Sasuke and Itachi." He pointed at my waiter who was guiding a married couple to a table. I felt sorry for the husband whose wife couldn't take her eyes off of Itachi.

I repeated my question, "_Excuse me? What_?"

"Itachi touched you. _Touched _you. And _laughed_." He must've been referring to when Itachi had to pry my hands away from my face. Oh god. "I mean, sure, he's usually all charm and smiles, but you can tell he's faking it. When he laughed today though, it was _honest_." Naruto seemed genuinely surprised at this and resorted to using large arm waves and movements. I liked him.

"And _Sasuke_, he had nearly thrown a hissy fit in the back when it was Kiba's turn up front. We had to let him stay up front when he demanded it because he's the superior one here, next to his older brother." He waved his hand in Itachi's direction, "Usually he has to _force _Kiba to work up here when there's a girl sitting at the front bar. I mean, they usually get real flirty with him. He doesn't like that." He shrugged his shoulders, "For a while I thought he was gay." I laughed.

"How did you do it?" He asked me suddenly.

"Wh-what?" I blushed under his intense scrutiny and resorted to wringing my fingers again.

He chuckled, "Oh, I see. You _are _cute." I blushed more.

"Well, I got to go. If Itachi sees me talking to you for so long, I'm not going to have any balls by the end of my shift." He leapt off his stool and waved to me, "Hope you come back here!"

I smiled at his turned back as he greeted more customers and led them to their tables. I had hoped that Sasuke would be back again soon, but the man in front of me behind the bar handed me a plate of sushi, giving me a grin. I took the plate with a small smile and picked up a roll with my chopsticks to nibble on it. It was good, but I couldn't help but wish that Sasuke had made mine. I was sure it would have been better.

I was nearly finished when Itachi came around when and asked if I needed more tea. I glanced down at my cup and nodded meekly, "Y-yes, I-I'd like that, thank you."

He came back with the pot and poured it's contents into my ceramic cup. He looked at me and said with a small smile, "You're cute."

He left to help some other customers and I was left spluttering and blushing furiously. Was this something he said to all of his female customers? I wished I had Naruto or Sasuke to talk to.

Finally, I finished and raised my hand for the bill, to which I was thankful that Naruto brought instead of Itachi. I debated on how much to leave as a tip, then decided with a smile, to hell with it. If he _did _charm all his female customers like that, so be it. He was _good _at it. I left a large tip and stood up to leave.

Just as I had stood I noticed Sasuke coming into the bar. He blinked at me and frowned. I was terrified that I suddenly wanted to throw myself at him and kiss him. A lot. I gulped down the feeling and held out my hand with as much grace as I could muster and smiled shyly at him, "Um, I-I hope I get to see y-you again sometime, Sasuke."

"Likewise, Hinata." He smiled back and we shook hands over the bar countertop. I slipped the scrap piece of napkin that held my phone number into his hand. He looked down at the piece of paper and smirked. He glanced back up and gave me a small grin.

I suppose the staff here was notorious for their grins.


	4. A Curse of Clumsiness

Juggling both papers, clean laundry and a tray of steaming coffee that was threatening to spill everywhere at any moment, she pushed through the revolving doors with a small pant. She tried ignoring the indignant stares she was receiving from the people she was accidentally bumping into in her haste, but managed to blush and mumble apologies nonetheless.

Fifteen blocks running in high heels and a skirt.

Not cool.

Stopping in the middle of the busy lobby to recompose herself she took a deep breath and hoped she didn't smell too bad. With another deep breath and quick push back of her hair, she scurried over to the closest elevator and looked around her consciously as she lifted up her leg and ungracefully jabbed the button with the point of her heel. What she wouldn't have given to have been spared that moment and have her arms free to do so.

The door had almost closed behind her when an obnoxious voice barked, "Hold it open!"

Hastily, she slammed her elbow against the button to hold open the door, groaning in pain. That was going to leave a remarkable bruise later. A young man about her age leisurely strolled in, scowling and carrying a briefcase. He eyed her coolly and didn't even give her so much as a nod of appreciation.

What a jackass.

She merely ignored him in turn until she watched him furiously begin to jab at the button for his floor and glance at his watch irritably. His utter impatience was consuming the near empty elevator and making Hinata increasingly uncomfortable.

Well, that's what happens when you decide to take your sweet time entering the elevator (possibly) in order to make a fool out of other people.

"Y-you know," She began timidly and tried avoiding looking at the man who was still jabbing the same button with the same amount of fury. "Pressing it over and o-over again w-won't make it go any f-faster."

The glare that he transferred from the row of buttons to her was so great that she gave a small yelp and sent one of the coffees that was in her hands spilling all over the frightening man in front of her. There was only the sound of the whirring of the elevator for a few seconds as they stared at each other; him in terrifying fury and her in shock and fear.

"I'm—I'm so so-sorry." She whispered and attempted to take a step closer to him.

"Don't." He hissed and stared down at the ruined shirt of his.

"I—I'll pay for it!" She cried out and bit her lip to stop from bursting into tears.

He finally looked up from his shirt and raised a condescending eyebrow. "You? You are going to pay for a…what, three hundred dollar shirt?"

Three. Hundred. Dollars.

The words echoed in Hinata's mind for a moment before she feebly nodded. "If I was the one who r-ruined it…i-it's only fair if I-I pay."

The anger in his eyes calmed slightly and was replaced with something she was unsure of. Something akin to amusement, perhaps?

"Well. That's not going to help me at all." His snarl was restored and his intimidating aura returned with a considerably heightened rate. "I have a meeting in about…" He looked down at his incredibly expensive looking watch. "…ten minutes. What are you going to do about that?"

Hinata gave a helpless glance at the laundry she was holding. She supposed he could fit into it; they looked exactly the same size. Pulling her lips into a grim line and shutting her eyes, she thrust out the plastic encased shirt.

"You…you can wear this. I'm p-pretty sure it will f-fit." She stuttered and felt any confidence in her and her chance in holding this job for much longer ebb away. Not only would her boss lose his fresh, expensive laundry…but this man who looked high enough in the social and business web to do some damage, would no doubt have her stupid, clumsy ass fired.

He examined the clothes for a moment before looking at her. "Won't you get fired for this?" There was no concern in his voice, merely curiosity.

She let out a deep and unsteady sigh. "Maybe. B-but either way I might." She finally chanced a look up at him and was startled to see how such intense seeming eyes could actually be so…dull looking. "Right?"

He smirked. "Smart girl."

Hinata blushed an angry red before the elevator dinged and another person stepped in, eyeing the two curiously. Quickly, she pushed out her and the man she had the misfortune to be so all thumbs around and into the hallway.

"What are you—?"

"Bringing you t-to a restroom so you can change." She whispered and pulled the surprisingly compliant man along until she reached said room. She turned to him and handed him the clear plastic laundry bag. "I'm really sorry a-about this."

"Not as sorry as you would've been if you hadn't given me this." He waved it around in her face.

Anger built up in the small woman as she watched the smirk form on his face. Drawing a thin line with her lips, she nodded. "Yes, sir." It would do no good to suffer from his wrath because of her impudence.

Just as the door slammed in her face, she could hear his soft laughter and words run cold through her.

"You know, this shirt is a hundred dollars more than promised."

--

She knocked quietly on the door and waited for the inevitable words, "Come in." to be said before opening the door and walking over to the desk. Lightly, she laid down the coffee beside of her boss and placed the papers and file exactly in front of him to ensure they wouldn't be put aside.

"Sir, these have to be signed b-by lunch." She bent over and placed a pen in his empty hand, pushing back an errant lock of her hair in the process.

"Don't call me sir; I'm only a few years older than you."

"You're the p-president of this, might I s-say, highly successful, company. I think there's a r-rule somewhere that I'm r-required to call you s-sir, regardless of whether you're, amazingly, still in your t-twenties." She closed her eyes; she was so…_tired_.

"I am president of this company and you will call me by what I _want_ to be called by. Sir gets old too quick." He insisted stubbornly.

Hinata bit her lip; God knew she was grateful to have this job (Whatever it was. The description and duties were so often changed that she wasn't sure _what_ she was anymore), and she was grateful for her boss sometimes too. But more often than not, she wished she was paid just a _little_ more.

"Alright…_Itachi_, these papers need to be signed by lunch."

He glanced up at her, papers and pen momentarily forgotten. "You got a haircut." He said.

She blinked. "I've had it for t-two weeks."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't th-think you…cared." Or noticed, obviously.

"I didn't know you wanted me to."

She blinked again before quickly handing him his coffee too. "Here. Just as r-requested." She was _blushing_.

He looked at the coffee before frowning. "Where's my laundry?"

Hinata bit back a scream and calmed herself for the lie. "I…uh…i-it turned out that it wasn't r-ready yet." Now she was going to have to replace a _four_ hundred dollar shirt as opposed to the original three she was supposed to.

The gaze that was held between them was long and unnerving. Finally, Itachi reached out and held a tress of her short hair between his fingers. "I like it better like this."

"Th-thank you." She whispered.

He let his hand fall and began reading the reports and contracts. Passing her a sheet of paper that had been in the corner of his desk, he said, "That project I promised you." He pointed at the sheet in her hands. "You can have it…but I had to let someone else in on it in order for you to have it. You'll be working with them."

Hinata flashed him a bright grin and felt like doing nothing more than kissing him. Instead she held the paper close to her chest and tried explaining her gratitude in words. "I—thank you so much, Itachi."

The small smile that he gave back made the wind almost soar out of her body. She knew how lucky she was to be able to witness a true Itachi Uchiha smile. Not many did. "You're very welcome, Hinata."

He turned his gaze to the door, his regular passive face returning, and called out, "You may come in now."

The door was opened and Hinata felt like collapsing after staring into the face of the man she was going to be working with for the next couple months.

"Hinata, this is my brother, Sasuke." There was a resigned annoyance in his voice as he said this.

Hinata let her gaze travel to Sasuke's face which was smirking and subtly glancing down at the clean shirt. His eyebrow rose at her in the way that told her she was going to be in _hell_ for the next few months.

"Hello, Hinata." He greeted, never lifting the smirk from his, admittedly, beautiful face.

Itachi looked between the two and frowned. "Sasuke, is that my shirt?"

Hinata groaned and smacked her forehead with her palm.


	5. This Perfect Situation

**Chapter 5: This Perfect Situation**

He glanced around the crowded office filled with some insanely drunk people, moderately drunk people and the occasional sober person. This wasn't exactly how he had been planning to spend his Friday night. Not at all.

"Itachi."

He turned around at the call of his name and was irritated to find his brother looking around at every direction, seemingly in search of something. Itachi deepened his frown when he realized what he was looking for; little brothers always had a way to piss the hell out of you.

"Have you seen Hinata?" Sasuke scratched his head and scowled at a passing woman dressed up as a cat who purred and wiggled her fingers at him.

Itachi had no problem lying to Sasuke who did nothing but bring him annoyance and irritation, but he was disappointed to find that the answer he gave him was honest. "I haven't. Not since you tried getting her to drink some of that spiked punch earlier. What are you, back in high school?" Itachi snorted, "Do you really need to get a girl drunk in order to get laid?"

Further to his aggravation, Sasuke smirked and leaned against the wall next to him. "Hardly." To prove his point, he flashed a half smile to another passing co-worker who turned a furious red and gave him a shy smile back. He turned away from her, ignoring her again and shrugged. "I figure an incredibly drunk Hyuuga would be incredibly hilarious."

Itachi merely grunted and walked away, his eye giving away to a twitch. He was pleased to see Sasuke from the corner of his eye fuming at being so easily dismissed and ignored. It irritated him that Sasuke didn't understand why he acted like this to him, he brought it upon himself, after all; playing the poor, neglected younger brother card was getting old.

He wandered around his office for a moment, dodging flirting and drunk women and wondering why he agreed to let this Halloween office party happen in the first place. Not only was it a waste of money and his time, it was going to be a pain in his ass to clean up.

Finally, he found a secluded corner away from the rowdy crowd next to a closet and leaned against it, ignoring the urge to crawl into it and sleep. He eyed it behind half lidded eyes and wondered why he shouldn't. Normally, the answer would be because it would be at the expense of his dignity…but with the choice of brainless drunks who probably wouldn't even notice him do it and the choice of peace…

Without giving it a second thought, he opened the closet and stepped in.

"_Don't close--!_"

Click.

There was an audible sigh in the dimly lit closet as Itachi finished closing the door behind him. Who the in the _hell _was in his closet with him?

"O-oh, hello, Itachi."

Itachi's eyes finally flickered their way to the petite woman who leaned against the tight corners of the wall uncomfortably and widened them minimally in surprise. She pulled at the hem of her bright yellow green skirt and adjusted the antennae headband in her hair before meeting his gaze with an uneasy smile. Itachi suddenly was reminded of why she was his favourite employee as she did this; she never threw herself at him, she was an incredibly hard worker, and she was _so fucking cute_.

"Why are you in here, Hinata?" Itachi asked and tried to figure out what she was wearing. Several dangly things came out of the sides of her low cut shirt in a symmetrical pattern and neon green fishnets held onto her legs. He nearly laughed at the bright red converse she was sporting that clashed terribly with the rest of her outfit.

She blushed bright enough that even in the dim light Itachi could tell and coughed. "Um…I-I was h-hiding from your…y-your brother."

He really should have known.

"I-I don't mean a-any disrespect, Itachi!" She insisted quickly at the look on his face. "I-it's just th-that…I-I don't know. He's so m-mean to me…and I think h-he tried to get me to drink sp-spiked punch."

Itachi definitely knew all of this already. Normally, he would've killed Sasuke for tormenting his favourite employee…but he enjoyed comforting her whenever he did. Like now, it was one of those times when he got a good excuse to stare at her to make it look like he was paying attention (which he _was_, of course).

She was so cute and she didn't even know it, a factor that was part of her appeal, of course.

"I'm sorry to hear that, Hinata." He lifted his hand and held one of the dangly things along her ribs. "But…what are you supposed to be?"

She chuckled uneasily and blushed more from the closeness brought about from his examination of her Halloween costume. Already as it was, he could hold his arms out in front of him and touch the back of the wall behind Hinata all while having his back pressed against the door. "Um…m-my friend got me the costume. She said I'd be a c-caterpillar, which I th-thought was cute. U-until….until I saw how…t-tight and…stuff it w-was."

He raised an eyebrow and actually let out a smirk. She was…was…

"What's so f-funny?" She asked, consciously pulling at a strand of her hair.

"You came to my office Halloween party as…a _sexy caterpillar_?" He asked, the mirth becoming evident in his voice.

Hinata blushed a deep red and gave him an nervous smile and clutched at one of her dangling caterpillar arms (at least, that's what Itachi supposed the dangling things were). "Um…"

Itachi froze and slowly let go of the cloth appendage he had been holding. Did he…did he just inadvertently call Hinata _sexy_? Oh, Itachi Uchiha did not _make _these types of inarticulate mistakes. Quickly, he covered up by asking, "Why are you still in here? I'm sure that if my fool of a brother searched hard enough, he would've found you here before long."

Hinata sighed and slumped against the wall. "I was actually kind of hoping he would…"

Itachi's eye twitched, a minute movement that Hinata caught and blushed again. "Not because… because…not because of what y-your probably thinking!" She cried out and shifted in her uncomfortable looking position, ending up in a pose that had her breast nearly touching his arm.

"And what _am _I thinking?" Honestly, he was trying not to think about earlier said part of anatomy that kept brushing his arm.

Hinata blushed again and sheepishly scratched her cheek. "Uh…n-never mind. But I was hoping he would be able to g-get me out of here…"

Itachi knitted his eyebrows together, "And why do you need that idiot brother of mine to do that?"

"Well, you could've too…" Hinata sighed and leaned forward, her forehead resting lightly on his shoulder. Itachi did nothing but lean back against the door. Hinata wasn't one to usually initiate physical contact, so he was guessing that maybe Sasuke did manage to slip her some of that spiked punch after all. But in this case, Itachi wasn't about to complain. "…but you stepped in and c-closed it instead o-of keeping it open so I could s-slip out."

"Can't you do it yourself?"

She looked up at him and gave a smile that was accompanied by a raised eyebrow that Itachi normally would've found annoying on anyone else, but found it almost endearing on her. "You t-try."

Returning her raised eyebrow with one of his own, he did just that and shook the knob a couple of times when it did not give way. Once more, he gave the door a strong shove with his shoulder as he continued to try and jiggle the knob. Finally, he let go of the knob and turned back to Hinata who was giving the door a forlorn look. "I suppose we are stuck for the time being then, Hinata."

"I f-figured." She looked up at the light bulb that was flickering dimly in the small closet and tentatively reached up to touch it. "I'm just g-glad that this hasn't given out ye--" As if on cue, the light bulb gave a dying flash and encased the entire closet with pitch dark. Hinata gave a terrified shriek that Itachi hoped would be heard by someone in the party, but was sorely disappointed and displeased to realize that the music had been turned up a few million decibels.

Thin arms suddenly launched themselves around his waist and a face was buried into his shoulder, gasping like a fish without its water supply. Awkwardly bringing a hand up to his frightened employee's head, he asked, "Are you…are you afraid of the dark?"

There was a sheepish and nervous laugh that sounded much too strangled as she raised her head up to his shyly. "S-sorry, Itachi." Yet she made no move to release herself from him. To Itachi's discomfort, he realised he enjoyed this all too much as she continued to breathe deep and unstable breaths against his chest and clutched as his back desperately.

Maybe he would someday find a way to repay Sasuke for this.

"You _are _childish, Hinata." Itachi chuckled and absentmindedly began to run fingers from the top of her head to the small of her back; much like he would a cat. "Being afraid of the dark is a ridiculous thing to have a phobia of."

"M-maybe…" She mumbled against his shirt. "But…but we all h-have our fears, don't we, Uchiha-san?"

Itachi scowled in the dark at the sudden formalities that she addressed him with and asked, "How do you sleep? With all the lights of you house on? Such a waste of electricity."

"It's…it's n-not the d-dark I'm afraid of, per say, but…" She trailed off for a second and found the tips of Itachi's ponytail to play with. "…I don't l-like the darkness that's so…_consuming _that you can't see. When I sleep, it's d-dark, y-yes, but I can st-still see from the natural lighting from the cl-clouds reflecting the city and the st-streetlights…this is d-different."

To Itachi, it made no difference; darkness was darkness. Instead of saying this, he shrugged and raised his head to the ceiling and just listened to the pounding music he could feel reverberate through his chest and Hinata's breathing that was slowly getting softer.

"A-are…are you a-afraid of anything, Itachi?" She glanced up at him and tilted her head.

The question momentarily threw him off guard. Hinata seemed to perceive this and continued in a softer voice, "I mean…you j-just are sometimes very…_challenging _to read. I can never t-tell what you're thinking of. And somehow, I can't s-see you being f-frightened of anything."

Was Itachi afraid of anything? Fear was a weakness…one that Itachi regrettably harboured in the deepest recesses of his heart; but no one was to know that, not even Hinata. At least, not yet. Maybe one day when he reached the strength of the gods he would confront it.

So instead of answering, he slid his hand from hair to her cheek, startling from what he could tell from the slight way she jumped. He wished he could see her. See the blush that he could feel hot against the palm of his hand, see her shining pale eyes that were a sheet of glass to peer into every thought and feeling she experienced, and see those moist lips that were undoubtedly parted with surprise.

Slowly, he lowered his head. He could feel her hand clutch the fabric of his shirt, he could feel her heart pump fast in her chest, he could feel her face that leaned into his touch, he could feel the breath of hers on his lips, he could feel--

"_Itachi_?"

Itachi turned his gaze around as Hinata scrambled back to the corner of the closet to stare fearfully at Sasuke who was glaring at them with confusion and misunderstanding. "I'm sorry, but was I _interrupting _something?" He asked, scathingly, staring at Hinata with a disappointed and put out look.

"Ihavetogo." Hinata squeaked and darted out of the closet past the two brothers who were mentally conveying their mutual hate between each other through the intense glaring contest they were having.

Sasuke. Was. Going. To. _Die_.

--

**Ahahahaaa….SO SUE ME. Do it. I DARE YOU. **

**I entered the, what…fourth? Maybe fifth? I've lost track. ANYWAYS. It's about (roughly) the fourth DateMe contest I've entered.**

**Yes…they were kind enough to let me enter my entry through this chapter of this drabble series. :D**

**Ciao,**

**MissLe**


	6. Grow Up, Get Old, Stay the Same

"So, what's th-the slope at this point supposed to be?"

"Well, remember that implicit differentiation only tells you _some_ of the information of the derivative of this curve, it doesn't go outright to do so."

"What? But..." Hinata growled and dropped her head to the desk to mumble against the wood, "I hate calculus." The past two hours had been going along like this. Either she was exceptionally bad at calculus, or her teacher was just horrible at his job. She suspected it was a bit of both, because after a four hour studying period with her tutor, she could usually bump her grade from a 59% to a nice 74% on her tests.

With a sigh, Itachi patted her back comfortingly, "Want a break?"

"No, no." Hinata shook her head and sat up straight. "I need t-to get this. My test is tomorrow and I'm sitting on the teetering edge of a C and C plus and father is going to be really upset if I d-don't get into Kon U a-and at this rate I won't because calculus is going to make my GPA drop drastically, and who's gonna accept someone with a two point four average into Kon U? And—"

Firm hands grasped themselves against her cheeks before directing her to stare him in the eyes. "We're taking a break. And then we will return. And you will receive an A in this next calculus test and the University of Konoha will _beg_ you to join them. Alright?"

Her panicked face slowly relaxed into a closed eyed grin and she leaned into his warm grip. "Yes, sir."

"Good." He lifted his lips in a light smirk before raising his hand and ruffling her hair. "I think mother's with Sasuke in the kitchen. Why don't you go see them?"

"Okay." She stood up, opened her mouth as if to say something before smiling once more and said, "Thank y-you."

"You make me sound like a tyrant of some sort." He didn't look up at her as he stood up and shuffled and sorted through the papers before him with a small playful smile on his lips.

"Oh! I, uh, I d-didn't—" She hid her mouth behind her fingers and blushed profusely as she attempted to back up slowly from the room to relieve herself from the situation.

"After eighteen years of knowing each other, I had hoped you would know when I was joking." He looked up and suddenly she was in front of him, face grinning and mere inches from his own.

"Same here." She laughed and wrapped her arms around him in a hug. He sat there, unsure as to what to do. Finally, he returned it by uncertainly wrapping his own arm around her and drew her closer to him, enjoying the feel of her warm skin against his. He wasn't sure when he felt the shift from light hearted to something distinctly...not.

"Are you...upset?" He asked quietly to her. "The only times you are like this is when you are or you're thinking very deeply about something."

"A b-bit of both, I suppose." She confessed in a mumble. "I..._we_ don't see you very much a-anymore. I miss having you here all the time...I know that e-even though Sasuke won't admit it h-he does to. You've gotten older—you're _twenty-one_ a-already...and I—_we_ can't h-help but feel a bit left behind."

"My dorm is a fifteen minute drive from here." He commented with an amused smile and pushed back the niggling feeling of disappointment he shouldn't be feeling for a girl who he was supposed to consider as his little sister as she stood back and looked up at him.

"I'm used to l-leaving my house and just coming over here before b-breakfast...talking with your f-family as everyone got ready...Hanabi walking over a few minutes l-later and then all go to school t-together." She whispered with a wistful smile.

"You still do that with Sasuke, do you not?"

"It's not the same." She shook her head and took another step back, "But I-I'm glad you're here right now with us nonetheless." With that, she took the final step outside the room and disappeared down the hallway.

With a groan, Itachi sank back into his chair and gripped his recently cut hair in frustration. Hinata had always been cute, sweet, and always there, but after coming back from a four month co-op in Peru she had suddenly...grown, _matured_. Her hair was longer, her clothes less loose, her stutter less significant, and her smile confident. All her life he had known her and there was always the dismissable notion to kiss her that popped up with every cute thing she did (which was very, very often), but never had it been _this_ strong.

Of course there was Sasuke to consider too. There was no denying the way his little brother looked at what was supposed to be his best friend. Every smile she gave him seemed to be put away and cherished, and recently Sasuke had been looking for any excuse to touch her, to do something with her, just to _be_ with her. Shaking his head and getting up, he wandered down the hall where Hinata had disappeared and leaned against the door jamb watching the scene before him play out.

"Sasuke!" She shrieked with laughter and attempted squirming out of his grip, to no avail.

"Sorry, I don't hear you begging for mercy yet." The dark, messy haired boy grinned and continued to trap her against the counter as his fingers assaulted and tickled the underside of her ribs.

"We—we have b-baking—to do!" She wheezed as tears trickled down the sides of her face. Desperately, she shoved her hands forwards and returned the tickles with her own set, leaving Sasuke jerking awkwardly in attempt to get away from the spasming fingers reaching for him.

"Itachi!"

The tickling match before the older Uchiha stopped suddenly as if set by a pause button as the two teenagers slowly turned to look at him and the Uchiha matriarch who entered into the kitchen from behind. "I thought you were in the den still!"

"Er...let me help you with those g-groceries, Mikoto!" Hinata squeaked suddenly throwing herself in front of the oven where something was ready to be put in. "Sasuke, why d-don't you show Itachi that...thing y-you were talking about?"

"That what--?" A sharp and totally unsubtle elbow to Sasuke's spleen on Hinata's behalf had him grunting, "Oh. Yeah. The thing." He walked past Itachi, waving an arm. "C'mon, let's go."

With an amused grin at both females in the kitchen who were pointedly ignoring Itachi's glances, he followed Sasuke out of the kitchen and over to the family room where Sasuke had sat himself down on the couch to turn on the TV.

"Subtlety is neither mother nor Hinata's forte. What's going on?" Itachi asked and sat down next to his brother to watch what seemed to be some reality TV show or another.

"Really? You don't know?" Sasuke snorted and smirked. "Dumbass."

Itachi's only response was to flick him in the forehead (an action which earned an indignant, "Hey!" from his brother) and ask, "When do you plan on telling Hinata how you feel about her? I don't think mother would be more pleased."

Sasuke surprised him by asking, "When will you?"

Itachi mused on this. "I wonder how Hinata would like knowing how she has two brothers fighting over her."

"I haven't brought out the punches yet." Sasuke shrugged and looked at him. "I think that...I think she knows anyways. A little bit. She's not _that_ stupid. But she's just as torn as we are. I'm willing to see how things play out."

"My, my, little brother, you have matured since I've left, haven't you?" Itachi teased and was mildly surprised at the profoundness in Sasuke's words. He didn't think he had been that perceptive.

"Shut up, asshole. Don't think I've forgiven you for abandoning us like this for Peru." He turned back to the TV, indicating the end to the conversation. In many ways Sasuke was still the four year old he remembered who cried whenever Itachi left for school without him.

Lights in the room suddenly turned off as Mikoto and Hinata entered the room with big smiles on their faces and a lit cake in their hands. "Happy birthday tooooo you, happy birthday tooooo..."

His birthday? It was his birthday? June ninth? He blinked as it was set before him, eyes staring at him and ready to watch him blow out the candles. "Thank you," He murmured and lightly blew on them, flickering out each candle.

Sitting down between the boys, Hinata shyly pressed a quick kiss against the smooth skin of Itachi's cheek and murmured, "Happy birthday, Itachi. What'd you wish for?"

He glanced at her, her bright, _bright_ eyes, and the easy way Sasuke had draped an arm around her before answering with a small smile, "Wisdom."

* * *

**Weellll....it's been a while now, hasn't it?**


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